A new project from a Sheffield theatre is giving people living with dementia the opportunity to share precious memories.

City centre theatre and arts centre, The Montgomery, has a creative reminiscence collection lending library specifically designed for older people experiencing the problems of a life with dementia.

This facility is already available to a number of care homes, churches, dementia cafes, and community groups. The themes of the boxes cover a wide range of subjects, including childhood pastimes, make do and mend, cooking and rationing, courtship and marriage, medicine, and even beauty and grooming.

The scheme is now aiming to extend to cover the whole of the city and for a membership fee of just £10 per year, the complete project will be available with unlimited access to people who need the stimulation the boxes can provide.

The Montgomery managing director, Dawn Reynolds, said: “Currently around 20 care homes and church groups borrow our memory boxes but if all the church groups and care homes in Sheffield accessed them they could potentially reach thousands of people living with dementia.

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“We plan to invite children and parents to special morning sessions, in which they will learn about dementia and the creative ways of using reminiscence and music.

“Our permanent dementia collection would then be used to promote conversation and families would be able to capture moments of their relatives memories in a life history booklet.”

Visit themontgomery.org.uk to find out more about The Montgomery and its dementia programme.

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